Pin
Tab_state_overview
Tab_state_itinerary
Tab_state_photos
Private departures available for groups of 4 or more.
(8 Days / 7 Nights)
from 4995
This trip is for private departure only
Share Envlope-icon Facebook-icon Twitter-icon Pinterest-icon Google-plus-icon
Hands-on-cook-icon
Explorer Type
Hands On Cook
Lotus_icon
Explorer Type
Private Departures
Comfort level [?]
Comfort+ Level-on Level-on Level-on Level-half Level-off
Close
BASIC - dormitory, shared bathrooms, basic camping
SIMPLE - homestay, farmhouse, 1-star hotel
COMFORT - 2-3 star hotel, Alpine Hut+ (potentially with shared bath), Agritourismo+, comfort camping
BOUTIQUE - 3-4 star hotel, unique property, luxury camping
DELUXE - 4-5 star hotel, generally also boutique/smaller properties but with more amenities
Exertion level [?]
Light Level-on Level-on Level-off Level-off Level-off
Close
1
Easy/Limited: little required physical activity
2
Light: easy walks, little elevation gain/loss, basic fitness. May not be daily
3
Active: full trip involves some physical activity daily (walking, hiking or cycling)
4
Moderate: sustained physical activity throughout the trip (hiking, cycling....elevation gain/loss, terrain should also be considered.)
5
Challenging (mountain trekking, etc.)

 

Reaching south from Florence, the province of Siena ripples with the gentle forested hills of Chianti into the rich valleys of the Chiana and Orcia Rivers. The area bubbles with the earthly pleasures of hot mineral waters and agricultural wonders. It is a region of contrasts. Depending on the season, travelers are treated to the visual splendors of the blazing colors of reddened grape leaves or cheery sunflowers, soothed by billowing fields of wheat.

Beyond Chianti, the road is less traveled by tourists, less touched by the winds of commercialism. It is not uncommon to see deer, porcupine, pairs of pheasant, and perhaps even wild boar – cinghiale - as you drive or walk the area. Many quaint and traditional food-making practices still exist here. The highlighted foods of this area are the pecorino cheese, truffles and porcini mushrooms, and Chianina beef. You’ll also be introduced to some uniquely local products such as a local pasta called pici and a pork sausage called finocchiona, which is salted and cured in a coating of aromatic wild fennel flowers and black pepper.

A note about our Hosts:

Pamela Sheldon Johns

Over the last twenty years American-born Pamela Sheldon Johns has enjoyed a freelance career that has included teaching, food styling, cooking school administration, and food writing. She devotes herself to developing culinary workshops in Italy and writes about food. She is now the author of fourteen cookbooks and lives in Italy, overseeing week-long culinary programs and exploring the backroads of Italian food culture.

Pamela's wine and food workshops are in several regions of Italy: Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, and Piemonte. A regular visitor to Italy since 1983, she and her family decided to make Tuscany their permanent home in 2001. Pamela, her husband Courtney, and their daughter Alaia now live at Poggio Etrusco, a 15-acre farm near Montepulciano, 1-1/2 hours south of Florence. Their villa is divided into private apartments for the students in the culinary programs and for weeklong vacation rentals. The estate is an active oliveto with 1,250 olive trees and a garden that provides fresh, seasonal produce.

Andrea Anichini

Andrea’s family has lived in Tuscany as far back as records were kept in the village church. Sommelier, restaurateur, eno-gastronomic expert, he will lead you on a personal journey into the food of his homeland and the hearts of his neighbors. Of course our modern world has forced food production to become a big business, but Andrea’s passion is for the small artisanal producers who still understand why their olive oil tastes different than that produced on the other side of the hill, or whose cheese will be richer because of the type of grass in their grazing fields. Andrea searches for the best produce in Siena, the most authentic pici pasta, and he lives on his own small organic farm. 

Read More ›

Highlights of Create the Taste of Tuscany:

  • Make yourself at home in two traditional Tuscany properties with two passionate regional chefs
  • Develop your skills during memorable cooking lessons, each highlighting various aspects of regional cuisine
  • Meander along the famous wine routes in Chianti and Montepulciano 
  • Enjoy scrumptious midday meals ala Italiana on the terrace
  • Broaden your knowledge of regional, biodynamic wines

 

 

More Highlights ›

 

Day One  We'll meet in Florence then head south to Montepulciano. Once we have settled into Poggio Etrusco, we will head to the medieval village of Monticchiello where we will have a demonstration of a dish using farro, an ancient strain of wheat. We’ll have some time to stroll around this charming village returning to Poggio Etrusco for dinner and a lesson from a wine master on the spectrum of wines in Tuscany.

Overnight stay near Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco www.poggio-etrusco.com/

Day Two  This morning we start with a visit to an antique frantoio, an olive pressing mill, for a demonstration and tasting of oils. On our return, we continue the discussion of the artisanal Italian pantry as we enjoy explanations and tastings of olive oils, vinegars (including 30-year-old traditional balsamic vinegar), capers, pasta. Lunch is a hands-on cooking class utilizing the artisanal ingredients.

Afternoon cooking demo in Montepulciano at a renowned restaurant, followed by some time on your own to explore the winding streets of Montepulciano, home of the DOCG wine Vino Nobile di Montepulciano made from the Sangiovese clone Prugnolo Gentile. This wine became ennobled in 1549 when Pope Paul III’s sommelier (things were different then!) named it "a most perfect wine, a wine for lords." We recommend visits to cantine (such as Palazzo Avignonesi, with cellars built over visible Etruscan tombs). Later, we meet for dinner at the restaurant.

Overnight stay near Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco www.poggio-etrusco.com/

 

Day Three  This morning we head out for market day in Chianciano Terme to purchase the ingredients we need to prepare our lunch. After the market we will return for hands-on cooking class to make Crostini Fegatini, Ribollita, Grilled Sausages, and Crostata di Fichi. This afternoon we have a guided visit of the gardens of La Foce, the estate of Iris Origo. Dinner will be a seasonal risotto, stuffed guinea hen, seasonal vegetables, and meringata.

Overnight stay near Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco www.poggio-etrusco.com/

 

Day Four  This morning we get an early start to see a bit of Cortona before we arrive for our appointment at noon at the elegant farm of one of the best producers of Vino Nobile di Montepulciano. After a visit to the cellars, we will also learn the process of making vin santo, then enjoy a relaxed lunch. Tonight we fire up our wood-burning pizza oven for a hands-on lesson to learn to make the dough and properly stretch out pizza with the classic toppings. Weather permitting, we will eat al fresco. Along with the pizza we will have tasting of a variety of Italian prosciutti and Italian beers.

Overnight stay near Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco www.poggio-etrusco.com/

 

Day Five  We visit Trequanda and a special macelleria (butcher shop) to learn about the famous Chianina beef. Afterward we pay a vist an artisanal cheesemaker to learn about Pecorino cheese, Cinta Senese (a unique breed of pork), and salumi production. After lunch there will be time to explore the charming Renaissance hilltown of Pienza.

Our farewell dinner is at Mondo X, in Cetona - very special! Cetona is a beautiful little wooded village is at the very edge of Tuscany and home to an unique restaurant. Mondo "X" is in the Convent of St. Francesco which dates back to 1212. This convent was in a total state of disrepair when Father Eligio assumed possession. With a crew of reformed and reforming drug-users, the convent was restored to a magnificent state. The residents then began growing their own vegetables and fruit, raising meat, and learned to cook in an unbelieveably gourmet style. We will arrive early to enjoy the grounds, perfectly maintained by the residents who are learning the trades of gardening, as the others work at cooking and restaurant and hotel jobs.

Overnight stay near Montepulciano at Poggio Etrusco www.poggio-etrusco.com/

 

Off to Chianti!  Our next host/Chef will be Andrea Anichini "A man from Chianti"

Day Six  This morning we will transfer to the Chianti area of Tuscany and check into our hotel.

Since it will be the end of October/early November and this is when the olive harvest takes place in Tuscany, we’ll go out to participate in an olive harvest as well as visit a working mill in olive oil production. Later we’ll shuttle up the road to Andrea’s house to discuss seasonal mushroom picking in the area and begin the preparations for a traditional porcini mushroom soup.

Dinner and cooking class at Andrea’s house.

Andrea will be your host today and tomorrow taking us to visit various producers/friends/family living in the area and he will share with you an in-depth, unique “foodie” experience you will not forget! 

Overnight stay in Vagliagli at Villa Astreo www.astreo.it

Day Seven:  This morning we will spend the morning visiting various local producers and tasting local products (just outside Siena) such as bread, pasta, gelato, wine, meats (visit a butcher) honey and olive oil. Andrea will take you to an organic vegetable farm in Monteliscai, to his family’s artisan pasta shop, to see a local, Italian market, a cheese producer – stopping for lunch along the way. Later, at Andrea’s house delve into the cooking lesson whereby we prepare together a four-course meal together and learn all the secrets to baking Tuscan bread and the use of alternative flours in bread baking. We’ll take a mid-class break to taste wine at Andrea’s cousin’s winery – located just next door. Dinner on the terrace at Andrea’s house.

Overnight stay in Vagliagli at Villa Astreo www.astreo.it

 

Day Eight: Arrivederci! Transfer to Florence for your flight back to the US or extension in Florence.

A note about the properties:

For the first 5 nights of this trip we’ll be based at Poggio Etrusco - a privately owned organic farm near Montepulciano, located halfway between Florence and Rome. The owners are Pamela Sheldon Johns (a cookbook author) and Johnny Johns (an artist). On 15 acres, this property is an active oliveto (olive tree farm) with over 800 olive trees and production of an exceptional organic extra-virgin olive oil.

The views are breath-taking from every angle. In the distance you can see the charming hilltown of Cortona and Lago Trasimeno; nearby we see the ancient towers of the historic towns of Montepulciano and Chianciano Terme. Poggio Etrusco is located in the Tuscan countryside, but has close access to everything you will need.

Guests are encouraged to pick fresh, seasonal produce from from the kitchen garden and will enjoy homemade jams and preserves from the plum, fig, apricot, peach, and cherry trees at breakfast. The large swimming pool is a welcome respite in the summer months.

Our last two nights will be spent in a historical villa/residence called Villa Astreo. A villa with pool nestled within the hills of Chianti, ideal for a romantic vacation near Siena, Villa Astreo is a dwelling from the 1900's surrounded by vineyards and olive groves, a real treasure hidden in this rich land filled with art, culture and breathtaking landscapes.

The Villa was built at the beginning of the twentieth-century by the Bonelli family using pietra serena entirely worked by hand, extracted from the quarry on which it rests; it is still the residence of family descendants, Francesco e Chiara, and mom Rosanna, who will let you in their home as it does with most guests expected; sharing their daily lives, preparing and offering breakfast and suggesting itineraries and excursions in the splendid settings of Siena.

Close

 

Reaching south from Florence, the province of Siena ripples with the gentle forested hills of Chianti into the rich valleys of the Chiana and Orcia Rivers. The area bubbles with the earthly pleasures of hot mineral waters and agricultural wonders. It is a region of contrasts. Depending on the season, travelers are treated to the visual splendors of the blazing colors of reddened grape leaves or cheery sunflowers, soothed by billowing fields of wheat.

Beyond Chianti, the road is less traveled by tourists, less touched by the winds of commercialism. It is not uncommon to see deer, porcupine, pairs of pheasant, and perhaps even wild boar – cinghiale - as you drive or walk the area. Many quaint and traditional food-making practices still exist here. The highlighted foods of this area are the pecorino cheese, truffles and porcini mushrooms, and Chianina beef. You’ll also be introduced to some uniquely local products such as a local pasta called pici and a pork sausage called finocchiona, which is salted and cured in a coating of aromatic wild fennel flowers and black pepper.

A note about our Hosts:

Pamela Sheldon Johns

Over the last twenty years American-born Pamela Sheldon Johns has enjoyed a freelance career that has included teaching, food styling, cooking school administration, and food writing. She devotes herself to developing culinary workshops in Italy and writes about food. She is now the author of fourteen cookbooks and lives in Italy, overseeing week-long culinary programs and exploring the backroads of Italian food culture.

Pamela's wine and food workshops are in several regions of Italy: Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campania, and Piemonte. A regular visitor to Italy since 1983, she and her family decided to make Tuscany their permanent home in 2001. Pamela, her husband Courtney, and their daughter Alaia now live at Poggio Etrusco, a 15-acre farm near Montepulciano, 1-1/2 hours south of Florence. Their villa is divided into private apartments for the students in the culinary programs and for weeklong vacation rentals. The estate is an active oliveto with 1,250 olive trees and a garden that provides fresh, seasonal produce.

Andrea Anichini

Andrea’s family has lived in Tuscany as far back as records were kept in the village church. Sommelier, restaurateur, eno-gastronomic expert, he will lead you on a personal journey into the food of his homeland and the hearts of his neighbors. Of course our modern world has forced food production to become a big business, but Andrea’s passion is for the small artisanal producers who still understand why their olive oil tastes different than that produced on the other side of the hill, or whose cheese will be richer because of the type of grass in their grazing fields. Andrea searches for the best produce in Siena, the most authentic pici pasta, and he lives on his own small organic farm. 

Close
overview itinerary photos